Local politicians, unionists back foreclosure moratorium

Following on the heels of a militant and successful march, rally and people’s hearing Sept. 17 in Lansing, Mich., as well as other ongoing protest actions, the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions continues building its statewide network demanding the state legislature enact Senate Bill 1306, a two-year foreclosure moratorium bill.

WW photo: Alan Pollock

The coalition’s activities are increasing and gaining wider support as poor and working people’s resistance continues amid the ongoing criminal, racist, multibillion-dollar bailouts of the Wall Street bankers and bosses.

A series of events the week of Sept. 28 in Detroit and Lansing demanded passage of the bill and money for people’s needs, not more bailouts for the rich and their wars.

JoAnn Watson, an African-American city councilor in Detroit, held a press conference at City Hall Sept. 29. This action followed a resolution passed by the Detroit City Council Sept. 22 demanding Congress bailout housing and mortgage crisis victims by enacting a two-year national moratorium on foreclosures.

“If we can bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie ($200 billion), AIG ($85 billion), and the ‘Big Three’ auto companies ($25 billion), then we should be able to help the people whose tax dollars will be used for these bail outs,” said Watson in a media release.

Watson noted that in Michigan, with unprecedented job losses in the auto industry—more than 200,000 jobs lost since 2000—the Detroit metropolitan area has gone from the highest home ownership rate to the highest foreclosure rate.

Watson said the Detroit City Council demands that Michigan senators and Detroit-based congressional representatives contribute to Detroit’s economic recovery by instituting a national moratorium on foreclosures for at least two years, earmarking a $1-billion economic package to create jobs, like those created by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s, for heads of households in Detroit, and providing tax credits for small businesses.

Press conferences in Lansing and Detroit on Oct. 1 were sponsored by Michigan State Senator Hansen Clark, sponsor of SB 1306. Currently the bill is being held up in committee by Rep. Randy Richardville.

The Michigan State AFL-CIO attended the Lansing press conference and expressed support for SB 1306, as did Linette Crosby, a mint farmer from St. Johns, Mich., whose family farm of 96 years has been foreclosed. The bank is scheduled to take the farm’s inventory on Nov. 1. (www.getmint.com)

“The bill is needed because Congress has, for now, taken this issue of helping people faced with foreclosure off their table, which was wrong for them to do,” said Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “The Federal bailout package, which will commit taxpayers to $700 billion, will not work without a bill like Sen. Clarke’s.”

The Detroit press conference was attended by Dave Ivers of the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO; David Sole, president of Auto Workers’ Local 2334; Rev. Ed Rowe of the Central United Methodist Church; a representative of the American Federation of Teachers; media workers, including Radio France International correspondents; and Moratorium NOW! Coalition members.

“The foreclosure and eviction crisis has reached epidemic proportions not only in the United States but in the world economy. A moratorium is the answer, not a taxpayer bailout,” said Clarke.

“In the midst of a $700-billion Wall Street bailout, Congress still has no answers for struggling homeowners. Michigan should take this opportunity to set a positive example for our nation by freezing foreclosures for two years, allowing people to stay in their homes and make reduced payments until they can get back on their feet.”

Clarke added, “The Michigan AFL-CIO is stepping up to support legislation that protects Michigan residents during the current financial crisis, and I urge state lawmakers to do the same.”

A loud noon demonstration at the McNamara federal building in downtown Detroit took place on Oct. 3 to protest the criminal bailouts of Wall Street and the craven capitulation by Democrats and Republicans alike to the bailout bill.

“We will not support the bailout. We will not go along with it. Where’s the jobs bill? Where’s the health care bill? Where’s the education bill?” demanded Abayomi Azikiwe of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition. While drivers honked their horns in support, the crowd held two massive banners and chanted, “Bail out the people, not the banks” and “Moratorium Now!”

After the protest, an activist delegation entered the federal building to register their protest that Democratic Sen. Carl Levin had voted for the bailout bill. After they were told Levin wasn’t in, the delegation was virtually tossed out of the public building by security and cops. But the activists eventually won a meeting with a staff representative. The delegation made it clear this was only the beginning of mass protests; they would be back.

Upcoming activities of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition include ongoing protests, mass leafleting, speaking events and organizing for a statewide organizers’ conference scheduled for early December.

The next meeting of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition will be on Oct. 11 at the Central United Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams, 4th floor, Detroit. For more information or to send a donation, call 313-887-4344; email [email protected]; or visit www.moratorium-mi.org.